Supervisor Reilich and Greece Chamber President Sarah Lentini are proud to stand behind Small Business Saturday 2015. On November 28th, small locally owned independent businesses will participate in this growing annual event. Last year, consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday spent a total of $14.3 billion. Nearly 3,000 Neighborhood Champions around the country rallied local businesses and created events and activities in their communities.

“It is crucial for communities to come together and support locally owned businesses” said Supervisor Reilich in a statement. “A success for these businesses is a success for our local economy, and a success for our community as a whole. Small Business Saturday is an excellent initiative to promote these shops, and one that I am proud to support.”

Greece Supervisor, Bill Reilich released his proposed 2016 budget for the town which holds the line on property taxes, reduces spending for the second straight year, and utilizes no reserve funds.

“Two years ago, I set the goal of eliminating the use of reserve funds to balance the budget,” said Supervisor Reilich. “The budget that I inherited in 2014 used over $5,100,000 of reserves. I knew this practice was not sustainable and that the town’s reserve funds would have been exhausted within three years.” Reilich added, “I am pleased to say that my goal has been met; working with my department heads and the employees throughout Town Hall the 2016 budget does not propose to use any reserve funds.

”The proposed 2016 budget reduces appropriations by more than a half million dollars over last year’s budget. “We’ve continued to press for greater efficiencies in the town’s operations, and I’m pleased to say that we’ve made further progress in that regard,” said Reilich. The 2014 tax rate was $6.3434 per thousand and the proposed 2016 budget tax rate will be $6.3392, actually a very slight decrease.

Some of the key components of the proposed 2016 budget include:• The elimination of 29 vacant positions, most part time and seasonal. This brings the total reduction in positions to 46 over the past two years.

• The tax levy remains below the state tax cap, ensuring that residents will receive their state rebate checks.• Maintains all current programs and services.• Allows for the construction of a new police headquarters at the Town Hall Campus.• Includes the acquisition of all street lights within the town from RG&E which will generate significant future savings to the town.• Allows for the construction of a new lodge at Braddock Bay Park.

Our 2016 proposed budget will show that we are spending only what the town takes in. While we successfully reduced the size of our overall budget, we have still have made the addition of quality of life amenities a priority. In 2015 we saw the completion of the Town Hall Pavilion, this has attracted thousands of residents and was used to host our Summer Concert Series, Senior Lunch Events, National Night Out and 4th of July Festivities as well. We were pleased to also open our 6-court pickle ball area. This amenity has been utilized for recreational and league play as well. This winter plans are underway to have community ice skating at the site of the pickle ball courts. Likely one of our most frequented additions has been the Spray Park. It is the largest in Western New York and we will continue to look for ways to enlarge it and add additional amenities for those visiting. We also installed a handicapped accessible boat launch at Braddock Bay Marina – this amenity saw a lot of use this past boating season and we are certain that with the changes and improvements for navigation that will be happening at the marina it will be in even more demand. Reilich added, “My first two budgets have gone a long way towards ensuring our town’s long-term financial stability. We’ve continued to pursue savings by refinancing older bond issues to take advantage of the current low market rates. Our last reissue will save more than $300,000 in interest payments over the life of the bonds.”

Reilich continued, “We’ve been able to limit our increases in Health Insurance costs by negotiating greater contributions from our employees.”

A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Wednesday, November 10th at 5:30 at the Greece Town Hall.

Construction is set to begin this winter on the $9.5 million Braddock Bay Wetland Restoration Project. The project, which is funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, will restore and protect regionally significant wetland habitat while improving boater access to Lake Ontario.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has asked the Town of Greece to help inform hunters and the general public of some temporary restrictions which must be honored in the interest of safety. Due to construction activity and the presence of construction workers in Braddock Bay, hunting will be temporarily prohibited in certain areas beginning January 1, 2016. The restrictions will mainly affect waterfowl hunters in the late waterfowl hunting seasons this winter, and for portions of the fall 2016 waterfowl hunting season.

This work is critical to protect and restore the integrity of Braddock Bay wetlands and the habitat that they provide for fish and wildlife. If you have any questions please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.l. For more information on this project please visit:

Thursday, October 1st will mark the last payment on the Town Hall building at 1 Vince Tofany Blvd. The original bond was issued in 1998 for a period of seventeen years. Greece Town Hall remains one of the most modern government buildings in the county, and is the centerpiece of a complex that has recently seen the additions of a new pavilion, pickleball courts, and a splash park.

The retirement of this debt coincides with the plan to build a new police station so as to minimize the budget and tax impact. The new Greece Police Headquarters will also be located on Town Hall Campus.

A public drop-in session will be held at Greece Town Hall in Community Rooms A & B, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, on Tuesday September 22, 2015 to review inventory information and gather public comments on the Hojack Trail Feasibility Study. The study, which is funded by the Genesee Transportation Council, is a collaborative effort by the towns of Greece and Parma, and the village of Hilton which will study the possibility of establishing a multi-use trail on the former Hojack rail corridor, extending from the NYS Route 390 Bike Path in Greece to Canning Street in Hilton.

The drop-in session will give residents of all 3 communities an opportunity to provide input on the study and discuss the project with the advisory committee, project consultants, and representatives from Greece, Parma, and Hilton.

Supervisor Reilich announced today that the Town of Greece will be participating in the 2015 Beach Cleanup day on Saturday, September 19th from 9AM until Noon. This event is an annual cleanup of beaches all over New York State. This is one of New York State’s most important environmental events of the year, and the Town of Greece is happy to participate.

This event is part of the larger International Coastal Clean-up sponsored by the American Littoral Society (ALS). Each year this event removes trash from shorelines all over New York State; 80 tons of trash in 2014 alone. There are currently plans to have groups tend to the Payne Beach area, the Braddock Bay area, and along the lake shore. However, more volunteers are always welcome, and Supervisor Reilich would like to encourage as many folks as possible to assist in this effort.Upon registering for Beach Cleanup Day, volunteers will receive an email with further instructions on where to meet to receive assignments and supplies, as well as go over safety precautions.

Online registration for the 2015 Beach Cleanup Day is available under the Special Events section of our website. For further inquiries, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich just received word from organizers at Slide the City that they will be unable to bring the event to the area this year. Citing legal hurdles and safety concerns handed down by New York State, they hope to work on these issues to bring the event back in 2016.

“We were absolutely disappointed to hear the event was being cancelled,” said Supervisor Reilich in a statement. “Safety has always been our number one concern, and we hope that Slide the City is able to overcome these obstacles to bring the slide to Greece in 2016.”